Today's armored vehicles are frequently manufactured with transparent armor—ballistic (bulletproof) glass windows and/or windshields. These structures typically consist of a block or pane of glass or, if not glass, a composite layered structure consisting of special tempered glass laminated with different types of plastics mounted in an appropriately dimensioned frame that overlaps or fits into an opening in the body of an armored vehicle. Though these ballistic windows or windshields provide some amount of threat protection to the vehicle's occupants, they are unwieldy and frequently damaged. Whether it is from a high-velocity projectile or a rock even, these ballistic windshields and/or windows frequently crack, or fail in other ways, which invariably leads to visual distortions and obstructions, and to expensive and time-consuming repairs. These and other problems exist with conventional ballistic glass windows and/or windshields.
Some conventional vehicles utilize video cameras to assist in navigation. However, these conventional deployments of cameras as navigation tools are in a secondary role (e.g., a back-up camera), and are not intended to serve as the primary or sole navigation system of vehicle. Moreover, these conventional navigation systems are limited to two-dimension displays. This inhibits the depth perception of the operator, leading to less-efficient, dangerous, or ineffective use of the vehicle while using such secondary navigation systems.
Notwithstanding the number of navigation systems currently in existence, there exists a need for a camera-based navigation system capable of serving as the primary navigation system for a vehicle.